Doubt
by isola9
Summary: "I know there is strength in the differences between us. I know there is comfort where we overlap." -Ani DiFranco


_He was a monster whose name struck fear into the hearts of the bravest souls. A brute who never looked back to face the consequences, with a devious mind and a heart as cold as the metal piercing his skin. The great and terrible iron dragon of Phantom Lord._

_What was he doing having doubts about himself?_

Gajeel hadn't been bothered by the idea of going through with his master's plans to start up a war with Fairy Tail, at first. In fact, he had gotten quite a rush when Ivan had delineated the plan to finally destroy those pesky fairies once and for all. The thought of squishing the weaklings under his heavy boots brought that crooked, signature smirk to his face. Merely imagining the possible violence sent tingles down his spine.

Then there was the matter of executing the plan. It was easy enough to subdue and grab the three fairies. After slinging them over his shoulders in old potato sacks, he stalked off to the park, all the while holding back his laugh as he heard their muffled cries.

Once he finally reached the central tree, where he knew someone from the guild would notice, he threw two of the sacks down and moved to open the third.

He hefted the occupant off the ground by the scruff of the neck, and cackled as Jet tried to run away, his whirling legs catching only the night air. He finally gave up, falling limp in the dragon's grasp.

"Do what you will to me... just don't hurt-!"

Mid-sentence, Gajeel punched him out. Turning his arm into a branding iron, he pressed it against the pale skin of the unconscious body in his hand. After shackling him to the tree, he stepped back to admire his work.

Grinning with maniacal delight, he strode back over to the other struggling burlap sacks.

The process of taunting and branding was repeated for an equally useless Droy. Finally done with the girl's two incompetent "bodyguards", Gajeel walked over to the third and final sack.

He undid the ties, and to his surprise and annoyance, was hit square in the jaw by a chunk of rock. Frowning and rubbing his sore face, he reached in to pull out a struggling blue- haired girl. She kicked at his stomach to no effect, always keeping her eyes trained downward.

"Ooh, feisty. I like that in a woman."

"Let me go!"

"Hmm, let me think about that... No."

Gajeel smirked as the girl shook in his hold. This was too easy.

"You got a name, runt?" he asked forcefully. There was no reply.

"I said, you got a name?" Still, no reply.

Gajeel turned the fingers of his free hand into sharp steel blades. Slowly sliding them one by one down the trembling girl's spine, he leaned in closer to her ear and said in a harsh whisper,

"You better answer me." He pressed into her back harder to get his point across. Drops of blood began to fall down her creamy white skin.

Levy held strong, silent tears dripping off her face and into the dirt. Gajeel scowled at her defiance and flipped her around so her front was facing him.

"You bitch! Yer gonna regret this!" The dragon roared. He slammed the slight girl up against the tree and shackled her up by the wrists.

Turning his arm into the branding iron again, he was about to strike her belly with all his built up aggression, when she finally began to lift up her head. As blood red eyes met with huge, sparkling brown, Gajeel felt his chest heave, and he felt himself freeze in the middle of action for the first time, ever. The smirk on his face faltered. Her chocolate eyes pleaded him to just let her go, and it was almost enough to make him change his mind. Almost.

He found himself enjoying her piercing screams as the hot metal hit her stomach far less than he thought he would.

* * *

**Hey guys! :)**

**This is my first GaLe story- I fell in love with these guys a little while ago, and I had to write something for them. Yeah, this chapter is a little dark, but hopefully it'll get better (I have no control over what comes into my brain- a lot of it is word barf ^.^).**

**I'm going to try to update this when I get a chance, and I'm really sorry not doing anything for MONTHS. School sucks, but it's ending in a few weeks :D**

**See ya!**  
**~Isola9**


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